-Business Standard Govt should revamp agricultural marketing to increase farmers' earnings and amend land-leasing laws Finance Minister Arun Jaitley has met farm sector representatives for pre-Budget consultations at a time Indian agriculture is passing through a bad patch - especially because of two years of consecutive drought. Predictably, therefore, most participants pitched for more credit on soft terms, higher minimum support prices (MSP) for crops and the expansion of irrigation facilities to...

-The Indian Express Also seek higher allocation for Price Stabilisation Fund in a pre-Budget meet Farmers’ organisations, food and fertiliser companies and agriculture experts on Monday urged finance minister Arun Jaitely to ensure that farmers get  remunerative prices for their produce and make sufficient Budget outlay to create  irrigation facilities in the remaining rain-fed areas. They also sought increase in the outlay for expanding the number of agriculture market yards and higher allocation...

-The Hindu Describing 2016 as the year of the LPG consumer, Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas Dharmendra Pradhan said on Friday that online payment facility for LPG refill would be available by the end of the year. “In the three calendar years of 2016, 2017 and 2018, we have set the target for supplying clean fuel to at least 70 per cent of the households.” Single helpline number for gas leaks opened LPG...

-The Times of India Ramesh Chand has spent over three decades in farm research and teaching agricultural economics and policy. He has now been appointed as a key member of the NITI Aayog to prepare a blueprint for the revival of the agricultural sector. In an interview to TOI, Chand talks about prices, rural distress, role of cutting edge technology and the need for state run institutions in the farm sector....

-The Hindu Commerce Minister Nirmala Sitharaman tables statement in Lok Sabha. Commerce Minister, Nirmala Sitharaman, rejected charges by the opposition parties that the government was unable to protect India’s interests at the recently concluded Nairobi Ministerial Conference of the WTO. “India negotiated hard to ensure that the WTO continues to place the interests of developing countries and LDCs at the centre of its agenda,” according to a statement tabled by Ms. Sitharaman, who...